Large heavy skillet (not nonstick)
Takes about 20 minutes to put together then refrigerate to cool
Ground meat or poultry can be substituted for Tofu. Adjust seasonings to taste.

To prepare:

Heat skillet over medium flame. Add oils, garlic, and ginger and sauté till fragrant about 2-3 minutes. Add red bell pepper and water chestnuts for another minute. Add crumbled tofu and continue breaking up with spatula mixing continuously until consistency resembles ground beef, about 5 minutes. The tofu/veggie beads will separate as the water evaporates. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, and Mirin and continue stirring till mixed through. It should be salty, spicy, slightly sweet. Adjust to your taste. Add scallions and cilantro and stir another minute to mix through. Place in a serving bowl and refrigerate till cool. You can serve by putting bowl of tofu mixture in the middle of a platter with lettuce leaves for people to wrap themselves and other raw veggies all around or fill the veggies yourself. Either way this is definitely a fun favorite finger food.

In a medium saucepan, steam spinach in about 1/2 inch of water till totally wilted. Drain and when cool, squeeze out removing as much water as possible. Chop and add to goat cheese with garlic and chopped scallions. Mix all together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread each of three tortillas with a thin/medium layer of goat cheese mix. On the other three tortillas spread a thin layer of pesto and place on top of goat cheese pesto side down. Heat skillet over medium heat. Wait until skillet heats through, about 3 minutes. Toast one quesadilla pressing down gently with a spatula until golden maybe 3 minutes. Turn over gently and press again. Mixture should be melting and soft. Toast second side till golden. Remove to cutting board and repeat with rest of quesadillas. Cut eat into quesadilla into 8 wedges and arrange on serving dish with salsa. Incredible!

*Options & continued adventures: Add some White wine to sauce: Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio or something very slightly fruity. You can also dredge fish fillets in white flour till thinly coated and sauté till pale tan and slightly crunchy then follow rest of recipe. About 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger juice adds to but does not impose on the red pepper in the sauce. This fish should melt in your mouth!

One large heavy skillet (NOT nonstick)
One large serving platter

To prepare:

Heat skillet over medium/high heat and add oil. Allow oil to heat for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Add half of the whole fish fillets to skillet and allow to cook until just opaque in center, a few minutes, turning gently on each side being very careful not to break fillet apart. Transfer fish to platter. Repeat with remaining fish. In the same skillet add more oil so skillet bottom is evenly coated. Add parsley (stand back a bit while the parsley gets annoyed and spits) and crushed red pepper. Sauté 1 minute. Add tomatoes, olives and garlic and if adding wine, use about 1/4 Cup now. Continue sautéing until tomatoes are soft and juicy, about 2-3 minutes. Season sauce with salt & pepper. Spoon over fish and serve. Bellissima!

Helen Sandler is used to being an innovator
and at the cutting edge of whole
foods whole grains awareness. After
graduating from SUNY, New York with a
teaching degree, she began to follow
her real passion for healthy cooking
which took her from Los Angeles to Boston
to attend the cooking school of the
late and great master Japanese natural
chef, Aveline Kushi. Later that passion
took her to Kyoto, Japan to continue her
studies, where she spent four more years
learning the art of healthy Japanese
cooking (Seishoku).

As Wellnes Chef Helen she is the featured authority at CTNgreen /wellness with articles in the library there and the virtual paperless magazine at CTNGreen Magazine